Experimentation: Project Athena
by Bumbling Mage's Apprentice
Summary: A modern Telekine finds himself in the clutches of Cerberus. How did he get there, and why are they modifying him? What is the purpose of Project Athena? Self Insert, Rating will remain T for now.
1. Preliminary Injections

_**Hey Y'all. Bumbling Mage's Apprentice here with a self insert in mass effect. I know it's a cluttered genre, but I read Mass Vexations and Masses to Masses and couldn't help but feel inspired. I doubt I'll do as well as Herr Wozzeck or iNf3ctioNZ. But I'll give it my best shot.**_

_**I own nothing except myself and my OCs. Bioware owns the Mass Effect franchise.**_

* * *

"Urg..." I groaned as I sat up, hand going to my forehead as I felt the reverberating pain of the headache I always got when I finished my exercises. Telekinetics were never easy to perform and always left the practitioner with a headache the size of Kansas. It was about the time that I opened my eyes that I detected something out of the ordinary.

Namely the small metal cubicle I found myself in.

The cubicle was at most five by five feet in size. I sat on top of a rather uncomfortable bunk that took up the south wall of the room. A combined toilet and sink occupied the north wall. And to top it all off, I was wearing some kind of white, form fitting jump suit with a big "Subject 24" emblazoned across the right breast. My normally unruly blonde hair had been given a buzzcut. Running my hand through my hair, I found several surgical scars adorning my scalp.

Shit.

Immediately I delved into my mind and searched for damage. Running through my own neural pathways while trying to find obstructions or damage.

I found several additions to my pain centers as well as something connected to my hormonal glands. It was nothing life threatening, nor was there anything in the old cortex that had suffered major damage.

A sudden hiss pulled me from my mental evaluation and back to the conscious world, my optic nerves coming back online to reveal that the west wall was sliding open to show several men and women in heavy looking black, white, and yellow armor. Two guys in the front had riot shields and large mace-like weapons that crackled with electricity. One of the men behind them held an impressive futuristic rifle. The women next to him had lighter armor and a much bigger rifle. The last woman of the group had a pistol on her belt and blue light dancing around her hands. The rifle guy stepped up.

"Alright 24, we've got a long day ahead of us, get out of your cell." He ordered even as the riot officers flared their shock mauls threateningly.

Not seeing much of a choice in the matter, I slid off my prison bunk and stepped out into the hallway. The rifle bearing soldier pointed with his weapon down the hallway, also made entirely of metal. I set off with a slow saunter, which ended quickly as the rifleman smacked me across the back with the butt of his gun. Propelling me face forward to the floor.

"Get moving 24, we don't have all day." The rifleman barked.

So I got to my feet quickly and moved off at a decidedly faster pace.

I was rather harshly directed down several corridors before finally reaching some sort of lab area. At this point the two riot officers set their shields aside and grabbed me by the arms. I didn't resist until I saw where I was going. An operating table with a metric fuck-ton of surgical equipment and a number of metalic looking... things. Various boxes and wires that I didn't want anywhere near me. So naturally as they tried to get me to the table I resisted with all my might. Kicking, screaming, hell, I even managed to get a bite in. Which got me another hit from an assault rifle stock, this time to the back of my head.

I woke up just as they finished strapping me down to the table. A man in a lab coat came into view from my left.

"Is the subject secured?" He asked the soldier who'd taken it upon himself to deliver punishment with a rifle butt.

"Yes sir, he's all yours." The soldier responded.

"Splendid." Lab Coat said happily as he pulled a syringe from a nearby tray and filled it with a viscous glowing material.

"I don't suppose that's anesthetic?" I asked, finally managing to find my voice.

"Oh heavens no. This should heighten your pain threshold immensely. You'll never need anesthetic for anything short of a heart transplant." Lab coat said cheerfully.

"I don't suppose it dampens pain at all?" I asked hopefully, dreading the answer.

"Nope." Lab coat chirped as he jammed the chemical-filled syringe into my neck. Dispensing the strange goop into my veins, where it ran like liquid fire.

It was all I could do to keep from screaming.

Then Lab Coat started the surgical gear.

I did scream then.

* * *

Eight hours later, or so I was told. The riot officers were dragging my immensely weak body back to my cell. They came to my cell and tossed me in, ignoring the pained groan forced out when I landed on my recently surgically modified rib cage. I was in constant, agonizing pain as the bones in my rib cage soldified and fused together.

A number of the bones in my upper torso had holes drilled into them. With some weird tonic injected directly into the marrow. From what little I could gather from my chipper torturer, I would replace lost blood at a much faster rate. Provided I survived the genetic rewrites they were forcing on me. My rib cage had a second serum injected into it. Which would, given time, solidify it into calcified armor protecting my vital organs.

Two of the strange little boxes had been implanted into my body(While I was still conscious mind you.). Apparently acted as adrenaline distributors, allowing me to maintain the flight or fight reaction for three times as long as normal. Tomorrow they were going to upgrade my heart and circulatory system so that my veins wouldn't burst whenever I triggered the flight or fight reaction. The day after my lungs would get a boost.

So far it seems I'm being turned into some kind of super soldier.

But the question remains. What is this place? And how did I get here?

* * *

_**Thanks for reading the first chapter, I should have the next out within a day or two, and it will be longer. Oh and feel free to review, anything you people can tell me about writing self inserts I would really appreciate.**_


	2. Combat trials

_**Hey I'm back. MEFF: Project Darwin is the intellectual property of Elateyin121. It is only mentioned here, but I in no way own any of the concepts used by **__**Elateyin121. She made a really good story, and if you haven't read it yet, you should. I also don't own Mass Effect or Warhammer 40,000.**_

_****__** So please don't sue me.**_

* * *

The torture continued for several days. It might have been longer as I'd had no way of keeping track of time. Imagine my surprise when they didn't come for me after the eighth or ninth time. I actually got to spend some time in my little cell. Granted I spent much of that time curled up on the bed trying to ignore the fact that my body was tearing itself apart. It was still some alone time. The only time I could be bothered to get out of my fetal position is when they slid a tray with a tube of some kind of paste-like food in it. Tasted terrible, but who's complaining?

I... I guessed that about a week passed before I was returned to the augmentations. Everything they did to me previously seemed to be physical improvements. Now it was all aimed at improving mental abilities. Each day there was a new batch of injections, all of which improving something in my brain. Which had the side effect of enhancing my limited telepathic and telekinetic abilities. My old, limited aura sensing became natural, where once I would need to focus on someone to get a read on them. My telekinesis got better, to the point where I could lift something with only a thought. Heck, I got to the point where I could influence the soldiers around me to a limited degree.

Then... Then we started combat trials.

* * *

"So, what form of no-doubt illegal torture do we have lined up today?" 24 quipped at his guard as he was directed at rifle point to a different door then usual.

"Something real special, just for you." Rifleman responded as they stopped in front of a door. It hissed open. 24 turned to look into the room, and was shoved into the rather dark room.

"What am I supposed to do?" 24 shouted back through the door as it began to close.

"Survive." Rifleman stated bluntly as the door slid shut and cut off the main source of light in the room. A low growl pierced the quiet of the room and an emergency light lit the darkness. Bathing the room in an eerie red glow.

Which also revealed the vorcha leaning against the wall, saliva visibly rolling down from it's mouth. 24 didn't have much of a chance to gawk at the alien because within a moment the thing was upon him, scratching and biting. 24 gave the thing a hard shove, propelling it's lanky frame off of him. The vorcha sprawled to the floor but was back to it's feet far too quickly. With no other option, 24 manifested a wave of telekinetic force and sent it flying into the vorcha. Smashing it into the wall with a sickening crack. The vorcha tried once again to get to it's feet, blood slowly trickling down the back of it's head. But 24 would give it no quarter. Another wave of force smashed into the vorcha, then another.

After a fourth wave of force, the vorcha fell face first to the metallic floor. The back of its head now a pulped mess of skull and grey matter. 24 fell to his knees, breathing heavily and gripping his head as a nasty migraine overtook his senses. The lights flickered on, cutting the bizarre red lighting from the room and exchanging it for a cold fluorescent light.

Then a door opened, and another vorcha walked in. This one wielding a cruel looking machete. Somehow, it looked even hungrier then it's friend who lay dead on the floor. 24 sighed.

"Well fuck."

* * *

Lab coat watched the monitor as various subjects of project Athena fought for their lives against starved vorcha and murderous varren. Charon subjects ripped into their xeno attackers with psychopathic glee as their claws ripped flesh and crushed bone. Hecate subjects blasted away with shocks of lightening or bursts of fire. Janus subjects either sent their foes flying with blasts of pure kinetic energy or drove their foes to insanity through unknown means.

An alarm reminded the researcher that he had to make a report to his boss. With a few taps on his keyboard, the monitor's images of triumph and death were replaced by a middle aged man in an expensive suit with a cigarette and a glass of priceless brandy.

"Report." The illusive man said evenly as he took a drag on his cigarette.

" The project is progressing far more quickly then we predicted sir. We've already started combat trials on all three subgroups." Lab coat said excitedly. But the Illusive Man held his hand up, stalling any more gushing from the excitable scientist.

"That's very impressive, but I have a few things I must know before we continue, how far along are you in replicating the gear found on Charon?" TIM asked, which put a severe damper on the scientist's enthusiasm.

"I must apologize sir. But we are incapable of replicating Charon's weaponry or armour. We are able to replicate it's combat drugs, and our understanding of metallurgy has increased tenfold by studying the alloys of it's weaponry. But we simply cannot recreate the alloys. It is too advanced for us to synthesize." The scientist said gloomily. TIM sighed as he leaned back, he'd been hoping to create dozens of the skull-wearing killing machines found on Charon Prime, but it was all for naught.

"Did you at least translate the data files we retrieved from it?"

"Yes, there was very little there, just a set of orders from the _"Officio Assassinorum"_ to an _"Eversor_". Something about killing a group of traitors." The scientist replied simply. "We can create a lesser form of the being found on Charon Prime. It simply won't be the same quality of killer. I'll dispatch a data packet on the subject once I have finalized the creation process of Charon assault units."

"Very good. How are the Hecate and Janus units progressing?"

"Hecate is proceeding on schedule. We still have no idea how the subjects are manifesting fire, lightening, or frost the way they are, but we have managed to increase their effectiveness immensely with the specialized amps we've been producing for them. The only problem is that Hecate subjects are immensely rare, we have no knowledge of what creates the phenomenon. Only that they can manifest and manipulate elemental energy, the only proven thing we have on Hecate is that the subjects manifest their abilities depending on their personalities. Those who can use Fire are more passionate while those who use Ice are calm for example." The scientist lectured. He paused for breath before continuing.

"The Janus project is perhaps the most promising of all three however. While we are still unable to identify the origin of their abilities. Janus subjects develop preternatural awareness of their surroundings and the ability to manifest biotic abilities without a drop of element zero in their bodies. Some of them seem to also develop limited telepathy, as groups of Janus subjects can, over time, react as if they were one being. The "linking" phenomenon discovered in project Darwin is present in every group of Janus subjects who spend a significant amount of time together. This may be a by-product of the genetic modifications we used on them, most of which having been first developed and used by project Darwin." The scientist finished proudly.

"Very good. I expect another report in three weeks time." TIM said simply as he cut the connection.

* * *

Jack Harper took a long drag on his cigarette before blowing out a puff of smoke. For a moment, it obstructed his view of the dying green star that Cronus station was currently orbiting before dispersing. Project Athena was his newest super soldier program. He would need good soldiers after all.

The reapers were coming, and he had a lot to do before they got here.

* * *

_**And that's a wrap for this chapter. Personally I believe that certain groups knew about the Reapers long before the rest of the galaxy. And considering that our friend jack had direct contact with Reaper thralls long before Shepard did. I think he would at least try to have some sort of plan for them. Project Athena, at least in my head cannon, is his last attempt at creating something to directly fight the Reapers**** instead of controlling them. As I plan on wrecking his shit before escaping the place. He'll probably give up on fighting the reapers and work on controlling them. But not without first getting the process for creating eversor assassins, because hey, even bad guys need semi competent soldiers. The Eversors will be replacing Cereberus Dragoons for sheer effectiveness in close combat.**_


End file.
